Brewers Director of New Media Caitlin Moyer gives Brewers fans an inside look at the Milwaukee Brewers and what's going on at One Brewers Way.

Results tagged ‘ Brewers On Deck ’

Now we’re down to the Final Four (On Wisconsin!), so we thought we’d post the updated brackets here so you can follow along with Brew Crew Bracketology below and see how their picks are “netting” out.

As you can see, even Hank and Bernie Brewer got in on the fun and Bernie has even correctly picked 3 of the Final Four! He’s got Wisconsin in the National Championship game, so let’s hope he’s right!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

If you’ll notice, I filled out a bracket, too. Although I’m a Marquette girl and I’m bummed they aren’t in it, I am cheering Wisconsin on loudly and I really do love the excitement of this time of year–both on the basketball and baseball fronts.

As the NCAA Basketball Tournament gets underway, we’re all feeling a little bit of that March Madness.

And, although both UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison are competing this year, the particular “March Madness” I’m referring to in this case is baseball related.

It’s been an especially long, tough winter and, all across the state, fans are suffering from major cases of cabin fever—and, much worse, Brewers fever. The ailment usually hits a crescendo, a state of madness, right about this time of year.

People started coming down with it in late January at Brewers On Deck. For one fleeting day, we got to see the Crew and get pumped up for the season. Then came Spring Training. Since mid-February, we’ve been teased by the sights of the steady string of warm, sunny days in Phoenix and the green grass, along with the sweet sounds of the crack of the bat, the ball smacking a leather glove, and Uecker‘s voice on the radio. These sights and sounds evoke an almost Pavlovian response from our other senses: We can almost smell the brats on the grill; we can almost taste the peanuts and Cracker Jack; and we can definitely feel the excitement in the air.

We’re now less than two weeks from Brewers Baseball returning to Milwaukee and the madness has hit full tilt. We’re ready for the Boys of Summer to return from Arizona and at least bring a little bit of spring back with them. We’re ready for America’s Pastime done the Wisconsin way, with tailgating, Sausage Races and Bernie’s slides. And the barrel? Oh yes, it’s ready to be rolled out. Just say when!

Like most of America, we’re sure you found time to fill out a bracket. That’s why we asked some of the Crew to do the same.

Tom Gorzelanny, hard at work on his bracket.

A few of the participants, like Brewers infielder Rickie Weeks and Brewers reliever Rob Wooten, really get into it. Rickie is a big basketball fan and Wooten in particular is a diehard fan of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

Wooten lives just south of Chapel Hill, N.C., and attends as many as 10 Tar Heels home basketball games per season before heading to Spring Training.

Bernie emailed their brackets to me this morning, noting for his: “I did an in-depth mascot analysis of each team; noting who I believe would win in a duel… oh and, in case you weren’t aware, I always root for the home team(s).”

Hank also appears to have taken team mascots into account; however, with a Final Four comprised of the Albany Great Danes, Connecticut Huskies, Gonzaga Bulldogs and Wofford Terriers, he appears to have stuck with his species.

“He’s also picked a lot of upsets in the other games… it appears Hank consistently roots for the ‘underdog,'” Bernie wrote. “It’s a risky move for a newcomer, choosing species over his new home teams. But I bet people will forgive him. He didn’t even pick AZ teams to go very far.”

Follow along with Brew Crew Bracketology below and see how their picks “net” out.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

If you’ll notice, I filled out a bracket, too. Although I’m a Marquette girl and I’m bummed they aren’t in it, I do love the excitement of this time of year–both on the basketball and baseball fronts.

Yep. March Madness has set in.

I’ve got Brewers Fever and the only prescription is more Brewers Baseball.

These t-shirts are currently available at the Brewers Team Store by Majestic at Miller Park.

If you’ll notice, the Majestic player name and number tees have been updated for 2014. Look closely and you’ll see that the lettering/numbering on the front and back has a real “jersey” look and feel to it:

This new style of the tees was available beginning at Brewers On Deck; the Team Store currently has players such as Ryan Braun, Khris Davis, Carlos Gomez, Jonathan Lucroy and Jean Segura in stock with new additions (such as Garza, which came today) arriving over the next few weeks leading up to Opening Day.

The Wisconsin Center was home to nearly 30 Brewers players today and a record crowd of 14,138 braved fresh snow and cold temperatures for the Club’s annual winter fanfest, Brewers On Deck Presented by Time Warner Cable.

The crowd surpassed 2012’s prior high mark of 12,118, and last year’s total of 11,722.

“We can’t thank the fans enough for coming out to warm the atmosphere downtown and helping move everyone’s thoughts toward baseball and the 2014 Brewers season,” said Brewers Chief Operating Officer Rick Schlesinger. “It was a great opportunity for players, coaches and staff to connect with the fans, and we look forward to seeing everyone again at Miller Park throughout the year.”

The afternoon’s highlights included an announcement that the Brewers had completed negotiations and signed free agent pitcher Matt Garza to a four-year contract. The announcement was made on the Main Entertainment Stage by Brewers Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio, who was joined by President of Baseball Operations Doug Melvin, Assistant General Manager Gord Ash, and Special Assistant to the General Manager Craig Counsell.

“That was definitely a great piece of news to break at the event, and the response from the fans was tremendous,” Schlesinger said.

Have you ever had a fun idea for a Brewers commercial? The Milwaukee Brewers are giving aspiring marketing professionals a chance to show what they have with a new creative contest where fans can “Create a Commercial.” We announced our latest interactive contest at today’s Brewers On Deck event.

Funny, touching, serious—it doesn’t matter as long as it is awesome. Fans are invited to create and submit a storyboard with their idea at brewers.com/commercial. Entries may also be supplemented with a YouTube clip (up to 30 seconds in length) or Instagram video (up to 15 seconds in length) to further illustrate their ideas.

One winner will get the chance to direct and/or star in a spot that will play in Miller Park, on FOX Sports Wisconsin during a Brewers broadcast, and online. The winner will also receive a Brewers prize package including game tickets and a Brewers director’s chair.

“With our recent ‘Design a YOUniform’ and ‘Create a Concession’ contests, we saw how creative and engaged our fans were in offering their ideas to connect with the team,” said Brewers Chief Operating Officer Rick Schlesinger. “We place a very high value on opinions from our fans, and we expect a similar strong response to this initiative.”

The period for submissions opens today and will last until Friday, February 28 at brewers.com/commercial. An internal Brewers committee will review the entries and judge them from March 3 – 7. Then, from March 10 – 23, fans will be able to vote on the finalists at brewers.com/commercial. The spot will be produced at the beginning of the season. An air date is to be determined based on production schedules.

Entry form templates, complete details and official rules can be found at brewers.com/commercial. The winning commercial will be produced by the Madison-based production company, Provideo.

Among the list of attendees, you may have noticed that Dennis Haskins—better known as “Mr. Belding” from the hit television series Saved By the Bell—will be joining us for the third year in a row.

I pulled this video off YouTube, a flashback for many I’m sure!

So, if you’re like me, you grew up with Mr. Belding, Zack Morris, Kelly Kapowski, Lisa Turtle, AC Slater, Jesse Spano & Screech–and I know you have some burning questions about Bayside High!

Or maybe you’ve always wondered about some of his other work. Yes, he’s appeared on many other popular TV shows such as Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, The West Wing, 7th Heaven and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, plus movies such as Back Nine.

Here’s your chance. Between now and 3pm CT on Saturday, January 25, submit your questions on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #AskMrBelding and we’ll get Dennis to answer some of them at Brewers on Deck this weekend!

It’s almost here! Brewers On Deck, presented by Time Warner Cable is set to take place on Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Wisconsin Center. Doors to the facility open at 7 a.m. and the exhibit hall is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This blog is full of everything you need for your day at Brewers On Deck.

Admission to this year’s Brewers On Deck is free of charge. Tickets are not required for the event. You can just show up at the Wisconsin Center on Sunday and you will be admitted to the event. Food donations will be accepted through the Hunger Task Force (in particular, peanut butter is requested by the Hunger Task Force). Donations can be dropped off at two main entrances to the Wisconsin Center, located at 4th Street and Wisconsin Avenue, and 4th Street and Wells Street.

The most updated list of players, coaches and alumni scheduled to attend (all subject to change) is as follows:

PLAYERS

COACHES

ALUMNI

Jeff Bianchi

Sean Halton

Logan Schafer

Ron Roenicke

Jerry Augustine

Michael Blazek

Donovan Hand

Jean Segura

Joe Crawford

Craig Counsell

Ryan Braun

Johnny Hellweg

Kevin Shackelford

Mike Guerrero

Rollie Fingers

Hiram Burgos

Jim Henderson

Will Smith

Marcus Hanel

Jim Gantner

Khris Davis

Elian Herrera

Tyler Thornburg

Garth Iorg

Larry Hisle

Marco Estrada

Brandon Kintzler

Rob Wooten

Rick Kranitz

Geoff Jenkins

Mike Fiers

Kyle Lohse

Jerry Narron

Dave Nelson

Yovani Gallardo

Jonathan Lucroy

Johnny Narron

Gorman Thomas

Caleb Gindl

Hunter Morris

Ed Sedar

Bob Uecker

Tom Gorzelanny

Jimmy Nelson

John Shelby

Robin Yount

Brooks Hall

Mark Reynolds

Lee Tunnell

The Klement’s Main Stage will include various Q&A sessions with top Brewers baseball executives, the coaching staff, game shows and a roundtable discussion with members of the Milwaukee media who cover the team on a regular basis. A full schedule of the Klement’s Main Stage is below.

The Brewers Interactive Stage will feature the Kids Only Question and Answer sessions, where youngsters interview players. Brewers Community Foundation will host a Treasure Hunt, featuring some hard-to-find Brewers items on sale as well as a live auction at 1:10 p.m. on the Interactive Stage. Additionally, BCF will hold a 50/50 Raffle. The winner will be announced at the Interactive Stage following the live auction.

Photo sessions with players are also scheduled throughout the day in designated photo areas, the Brewers Team Store by Majestic will have a full set up with the latest Brewers merchandise for sale and a Brewers Museum will feature memorable artifacts from throughout the history of the team. To better plan out your day, click on the map below to enlarge.

You’ll want to be sure to check out the Brewers Social Media area for an extra-special photo opportunity. Plus, when you Tweet and/or Instagram a photo from the event using the hashtag #BrewersOnDeck, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack that includes a trip down Bernie Brewer’s slide, game tickets and more! Official rules can be found at brewers.com/ondeck.

Details on the autograph and programming schedules are listed below. The schedules are subject to change, with the latest version and more information available at Brewers.com/ondeck. Autographs this year will be either free or $10, with proceeds benefitting Brewers Community Foundation (NOTE: the $25 level for select “Premier” autographs which existed in prior years has been eliminated).

Recipients of “PREMIER” autographs Ryan Braun, Rollie Fingers, Yovani Gallardo, Jonathan Lucroy, Bob Uecker and Robin Yount will be chosen through a random selection process. Each fan in attendance will receive one Premier Entry card which may be redeemed at the Random Selection area outside the Main Exhibit Hall of the Wisconsin Center. The Premier Entry card will be exchanged for a numbered coupon and entered into the random selection process for any one of the select Brewers players. Coupon distribution will be available at 8 a.m. the day of the event and will continue up to an hour before each designated autograph session.

There is no cost for coupons to enter the random selection process; however, those holding winning coupons must pay $10 at the respective autograph stage to collect their player signature. There will be 250 winners for each of the autograph sessions. The winning ticket numbers will be posted at the designated autograph stage no less than 30 minutes prior to each player’s session. A schedule is listed below:

Players and staff not included in the above autograph list will not use the random selection process. Each of those players will sign 250 autographs at prices ranging from free to $10.

The autograph opportunities are for signatures on photo cards provided by the team; the Brewers cannot guarantee that any player will sign other memorabilia, and personalization of items is solely up to the discretion of each player (BOLD ITALICS – Premier Autograph).

Players who are not listed above will sign free autographs on the Bonus Stage all day long.

Please note that cash is the only acceptable form of payment for autographs. There are ATMs available at the Wisconsin Center.

The Newsradio 620 WTMJ Stage will broadcast live from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and will include interviews with Brewers players and coaches. Fans using social media are invited to use the hashtag #BrewersOnDeck when tweeting about Brewers On Deck and posting photos on Instagram.

Klement’s Main Stage Schedule

10:15 a.m. – Welcome – Brewers television broadcasters Brian Anderson and Bill Schroeder will welcome fans to Brewers On Deck. There will be a pair of special announcements at this time related to contests and promotions for 2014, so you’ll want to make sure to get there early!

11:45 a.m. – Milwacky Squares – Dennis Haskins—better known as “Mr. Belding” from the hit television series Saved By the Bell—will host this spin-off of Hollywood Squares. Brewers Hall of Fame radio announcer Bob Uecker will sit in the middle square.

1:00 p.m. – Meet the Management and Newest Players – Brewers Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio, President of Baseball Operations – General Manager Doug Melvin, Vice President – Assistant General Manager Gord Ash and Special Assistant to the GM Craig Counsell will join the newest Brewers acquisitions – Will Smith and Mark Reynolds – in a question and answer session with Brewers fans. The session will be hosted by Bob Uecker.

2:15 p.m. – The Brewlywed Game – Brewers players, coaches, prospects and alumni will participate in a game show to see which pair really knows each other the best. Joe Block will host the show.

3:30 p.m. – Media Roundtable – Join host Craig Coshun in a discussion about the Brewers with members of the local media including Todd Rosiak of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com, Tim Allen of WSSP-AM 1250 and Telly Hughes of FOX Sports Wisconsin.

But even better than that–we’re less that 20 days away Brewers On Deck, presented by Time Warner Cable, the winter fan festival that bridges the gap between the Wisconsin winter and Spring Training, set to take place on Sunday, January 26, 2014 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee.Last fall, we announced that this year, Brewers on Deck is FREE for all attendees. (Typically, admission ranges from $9 to $20.)

Brewers On Deck will feature a number of activities for the entire family. Autographs and photos from Brewers players and coaches, interactive games in the Kids Area, Q&A sessions and game shows with Brewers players, coaches and broadcasters, vendor booths with baseball memorabilia, the Brewers Community Foundation Treasure Hunt and many other activities will all be a part of Brewers On Deck.

Details on autograph sessions and tickets will be announced later this month, but right now, we’re giving you the chance to win an autograph from your favorite player at the event!

Here’s what you do:

Between now and January 20, submit a Vine (:06) or Instagram (:15) video telling us who your favorite player is and why you should receive an autograph from him. (Be sure to use the hashtag #BREWERSONDECK so we can find them!)

We’ll pick 10 winners to receive the autograph of their favorite player at the event (subject to availability). For complete rules, click here.

We can’t wait to see your submissions and we also can’t wait to see YOU at Brewers On Deck! Stay tuned to the blog for more details on the event, including player confirmation and schedules as they are released!

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.